AN: We're gonna take a small break from the action to follow our favorite chameleon, Espio, for a minute. Next chapter will pick up right after where 12 left off, don't worry. But for now, I hope you enjoy reading this detour as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh yeah, and see if you can find all the references to other ninjas in famous modern fiction I snuck in.

Helloooo and good afternoon! As always, I'm Nite the Owl and you're listening to K-TBR 199.2: Sunset City's #1 station for news, advice, and music! Ah, there goes my favorite coworker, Don the Rooster, donning his brown utility belt as always. Hey, Don, wanna join me on the air? No? Your loss, haha. Anyways folks, before I start playin' those sweet tunes you all love oh-so-much, I actually wanted to talk about something serious for a second. Earlier today, I received some pretty heartbreaking information I needed to share. The Mystic Ruins were found burning up in flames, much of the forest reduced to ashes, under extremely mysterious circumstances. The cause of the fire is unknown, as authorities are currently trying to determine it. This comes fresh off the heels of other disasters in neighboring areas, such as the destruction of the Mineral Museum in Spiral Hill, the unauthorized Barricade Town warehouse demolition, and the obliteration of private property belonging to famous hero Miles "Tails" Prower in Central City. These disturbing events have not yet been connected, but rumors are swirling around a beef between heroic powerhouses Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehogs, no relation. It is only rumors, however, so I can't speak further on that. I know this isn't the greatest news to tune in for, especially after the tragedies that were the recent uncoverings of Zombot Disintegration, taking away our precious friends and family members that can never come back. But folks, I'm here to let you know, it's all gonna be ok. We have to stay positive during times of unrest or crisis, and we here at K-TBR 199.2 are doing our part! As always, if you've got anything weighing you down today, give Nite a call. In the meantime, here's one of my favorite tracks from one of my favorite bands, Crush 40.

Hours after that message had been on the air, Espio the Chameleon made his way into Barricade Town. It was evening, the sun still out, with maybe a few hours of daylight left. The purple reptile had separated from his friends to track down Shadow the Hedgehog, and though he hadn't yet found him, the clues took him to Barricade Town. A vital part of the wartime effort for its Wispon distribution, and a victim town in the scuffle of Sonic and Shadow, whose brawl had destroyed a key supply depot in the town. The lone ninja detective walked to the warehouse to investigate the damage and retrieve more information from civilians. The town was mostly a ghost town save for a few Restoration workers carrying supplies to various buildings, as well as fortifying the town's namesake barricade.

As he made his way to the broken warehouse, his mind drifted off into other thoughts. Was it really right to leave his friends in the manner that he did? He lost control of his emotions and blew up on a friend, and stormed off. It pained him to think about it, but he also couldn't lie to himself. It felt good to get the emotions off his chest, and even if what he said was hurtful, he told not a single lie. Perhaps he would apologize at a later date, when they'd both mulled over the argument. But for now, maybe he shouldn't regret saying what he said, because as he had told Tails, somebody needed to clue him in. And this whole ordeal with Sonic and Shadow… perhaps after confronting Shadow, he could contact Sonic. Like Vector had pleaded before he stepped out. Vector… Charmy…

I'm sorry to leave you, my friends. I WILL return when I am finished.

Espio reached the broken warehouse, although it didn't look as bad as he'd heard. Construction equipment had been set up for rebuilding it, with steel beams and columns intertwined with the structure to keep it stable. Scaffolding was set up to prevent injury from falling debris and there was a crane lifting and lowering materials. Instead of primarily wood, steel and concrete were being used for the structure. All the construction crew around the site were wearing their hard hats, and one of the crew members ran over to Espio, urging him to put on the hard hat he was racing to hand him. It was a brown dog with tiny dark spots above his eyes and a black-tipped tail. He had folded ears, brown eyes, and green boots. "Sir, this area is dangerous. Debris could fall on you at any moment! Please, put on this hard hat if you intend to stay!"

Espio raised a hand in rejection. "Though the yellow matches my eyes and horn, I do not need it. Save it for somebody who does. Thank you, though."

The dog looked at him quizzically until their interaction was halted by shouting. A worker had fallen off her suspended scaffold, a couple stories high. A pink cat with green eyes and cyan attire, including a headband. She might live, but not without serious injury. The shouting from the supervisor could be heard, "Hey! Somebody catch her! C'mon!"

Hearing the call, Espio didn't hesitate to leap into action. He ran to the spot on the ground where he anticipated her landing and leapt in the air, arms outstretched, catching her bridal-style. The surrounding staff cheered as they landed and he set her down. "Th-thank you so much! You saved me!"

"It's nothing," Espio reassured. "Just be careful next time." The cat nodded and walked away shyly, still in shock from her rescue. The dog ran over, following Espio and congratulating him. "Wow, that was incredible! Wait, I think I can recognize you now… you're Espio, of the Chaotix Detective Agency. Man, this is embarrassing, no wonder you got skills like that."

Espio corrected him. "I trained in ninjutsu long before I joined the Chaotix Detective Agency."

The dog, still shocked, was curious. "Well, what's a master ninja doing here in our humble town? Did you need a Wispon or something? We'd be happy to suppl-"

"Not quite," Espio interrupted. "I'm here on a… mission, actually." The dog's eyes lit up as Espio continued. "I came to investigate how this depot was demolished. Anything you can tell me? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated."

The dog nodded his head. "I wasn't here when the ceiling caved and things turned bad, but it was the talk of the town for a bit from the people who witnessed it. Apparently, Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehogs both arrived with their respective teams or something, and they fought inside that very warehouse. Then the ceiling caved and the building fell apart a bit, and Shadow's team walked out of the warehouse, looking pretty dejected. Sonic's team was nowhere to be found after all that mess and noise. Like they just teleported or something."

"Like they just teleported, huh?" Though he feigned ignorance, Espio knew exactly what that meant, and slowly started to piece the information together. Team Dark and Whisper had fought against Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and Metal Sonic, and maybe Tangle. Somehow, their fight caused the ceiling to cave in and the building fell apart, and Sonic's team teleported out of there, while Shadow's team left in defeat. Teleporting… the main means of teleporting is through Chaos Control. That meant Sonic and his team must've fought Shadow over a Chaos Emerald in this area, and won. If Team Dark had walked out, that meant they had not yet been in possession of a Chaos Emerald at that point in time. But what could Espio do with this information? It was good to know but it didn't help in locating Shadow now.

Then it clicked in Espio's mind. If Sonic and Shadow are looking for the Chaos Emeralds, then he would need to locate one too. Perhaps then his path would intersect with Shadow's. Espio realized he was lost in thought and turned back to face the dog. "Thank you for your help. This information is incredibly important in assisting with my investigation." The dog scratched the back of his head, blushing. As if the day hadn't been eventful enough, a scream could be heard in the distance nearby. Everyone, including Espio, scanned the surrounding area before everyone's eyes fell on a pair of skunks harassing a butterfly. She had pink wings and purple hair, and was struggling to flutter away. "Where's the leader of this town?" One of the skunks asked. "We just wanna talk. Negotiate."

Apparently, the skunks had previously made a big stink in this town, as the construction workers recognized them and began to flee, leaving the butterfly to deal with them herself. Those who couldn't flee hid inside crevices in the building. Espio only shook his head at this display of cowardice, and walked over calmly to the skunks.

"Hey, you," Espio addressed the butterfly. "Get out of here. I'll take care of these guys." The butterfly darted away, struggling to stutter out a "Th-th-thank you, brave hero."

The skunks laughed to themselves. "Take care of us, he says. Sounds like he doesn't know who we are, eh bro?"

The brother responded. "Makes sense, seeing as we don't know who he is either. Let's show him who we are."

Espio was getting revved up. It'd been a while since he'd had some action, but he attempted diplomacy one last time. "I didn't come here looking for a fight, and you don't want to fight a ninja. I advise you to stand down before you embarrass yourselves."

The skunk brothers didn't back down, and began posing in front of Espio, taking turns to speak in their signature rhyme.

"We're pretty tough!"

"And we're ready to rumble!"

"Now face the wrath of Rough and Tumble!"

Though impressed by their coordination, Espio remained vigilant, taking a second to analyze his opponents. The blue skunk, probably Rough, seemed a bit smarter...err, less dumb, rather, than his taller, stronger brother, the white skunk, Tumble. Their reputation clearly preceded them in this town, and two against one weren't great odds, but Espio figured his honor as a ninja would be at risk if he backed down now. He made the first move, throwing out two shurikens, one aimed at each skunk. With his lightning-fast reflexes, the brothers didn't even notice his arms move to throw the shurikens, and said shurikens flew with such speed they couldn't dodge them even if they wanted to.

However, the shurikens were woefully ineffective. The one aimed at Tumble bounced right off the thug's tough exterior, and the one aimed for Rough got lodged in his fluffier and less-stiff-but-still-tough chest. The mooks looked at each other and started laughing, to Espio's shock. "Boy, is this how strong all ninjas around here are?" Rough chuckled as he flicked the shuriken away. "I guess if we beat you, we can take your title of "ninja", huh? Shouldn't be too hard."

Tumble, feeling confident as well, asked Espio a question out of genuine curiosity. "Say, chameleon, if you're a ninja, where's your belt? Your headband? The mask and stuff? Where are all your cool ninja weapons? Like those super long swords, or some nunchucks or something. Not even a wooden staff?"

Espio got slightly offended at the questions thrown his way. "A true master of ninjutsu learns to fight without any extravagant weapons. Those weapons are all for show, and not practical in a true ninja's fighting style. Katanas are also used by samurai, not ninja. Ninjas of fiction are nothing like a real ninja such as myself."

"Booooring!" Rough interjected. "He didn't ask for a history lesson, you poser. We wanna see some real-deal ninja action! The speed, the weapons, the power. Though judging from those throwing stars you sneezed out earlier, it looks like your skills aren't up to snuff!"

Espio wasn't going to let his ego take this beating, and decided to let his inner cocky-Sonic take control, as he played up the theatrics and joined in the trash talk. He pointed in their direction with one finger. "By the end of this fight, you two are going to be tied up and thrown in jail, by my use of a real ninja weapon. Believe it!"

"Alright, now you're talking!" Rough engaged, satisfied to rile up Espio as he cracked his knuckles. Tumble hit his fists together, and the brothers began walking to close the gap between themselves and Espio.

Espio made his signature hand pose, with one hand under the other as both pairs of index and middle fingers stayed pointed up and one hand held the other. "Evil must die! Beware my ninja power!" He dashed at speeds to rival a hedgehog, one arm in front of his chest and the other straight behind him, approaching Rough and Tumble. His pride told him to strike the bigger foe first, so he quickly focused on Tumble. The first interactions would take place in a matter of seconds as he struck his foes. He pointed his right index and middle fingers an inch away from Tumble's chest before rapidly forming it into a fist. "Oraaa!" He yelled, as he socked Tumble straight in the chest, a clean one-inch punch. Tumble staggered backwards, struggling to catch his breath, as Espio turned his attention to Rough, who couldn't take in what was happening quickly enough. "Hyaaah!" Espio shouted, as he palm-struck Rough's chin, knocking the skunk over. With two successful maneuvers, Espio stepped back to recenter his chi as he gave his opponents a minute to recuperate.

Rough and Tumble stood up firmly and dusted themselves off, ready to attack Espio again. Tumble ran in for a punch, but swung through what appeared to be a hologram of Espio. "Wha…? How…?" All of a sudden, Tumble felt a chop at the back of his neck. He flinched but it didn't knock him over, and when turned his assailant was gone.

Attempting to exploit pressure points when I don't know skunk anatomy won't work. But my afterimage technique has them on the ropes. I must keep my speed up.

He continued to circle the brothers as they swung through afterimage after afterimage, as he responded with chops, punches, kicks, and palm strikes. He even got cocky enough to slap them with his long tongue, but that was a breaking point for Rough.

"We don't have to take this, bro! Let's smoke him out!"

The skunks simultaneously sprayed the surrounding area, creating a huge green cloud of stink as the unsuspecting Espio faltered in his movements. Taken off guard, he'd stopped dashing around long enough for both brothers to get a few licks in, as Rough and Tumble decked him in the face and chest, and he was sent flying backwards.

Espio tumbled, rolling around a bit on the ground before he could get his footing back. On the last roll, he exerted force to flip, landing on his feet. The skunks' combined technique was dangerous, and they were definitely worth taking seriously. With this in mind, Espio decided to pull out his next trick. He jumped up, kicked back, whipped around, and spun. His body formed a purple tornado, spinning on his feet like a top, while Rough and Tumble were taken aback by his technique.

"Wha…? I've never seen any ninjas do somethin' like that," Tumble gulped. His brother was more intrigued than scared. "He's a ninja… and he's spinning like that… it's some kinda technique, some kinda spinning jutsu… spinjitzu!"

The thugs were so captivated by Espio's majestic rotating purple figure they didn't realize what he was actually doing, as he began to draw wind and leaves to his body (said body was now covered with a fleeting cyan aura of blurring speed), performing a Leaf Swirl. Tumble shivered for a second, glancing over at his brother momentarily. He rubbed both his shoulders. "Hey, bro, did it get cold all of a sudden? What's with all the wind?"

Rough just shrugged in response, his fluffy tail curling around him as far as it could. Then the brothers heard a loud "Huzzah!" from Espio's direction, as the full extent of his technique dawned on them. Espio released the tornado from around him and sent it to the skunks' direction, as they scrambled a few feet away to avoid the vortex. Because of this, they hadn't noticed that Espio was completely invisible to the eye. A successful activation of his Chroma Camo! When the Leaf Swirl dissipated, Rough and Tumble looked around for signs of Espio, but couldn't spot him. Then Tumble felt a punch to his gut, and Rough a kick to his head a second later. The two were barraged by an array of punches and kicks, as Espio had given up on precision and focused on brute force. His technique would've been the cause for victory if the sun wasn't still out, and gave away his position by chance. By pure dumb luck, Rough noticed the chameleon's shadow as he about to attack Tumble and sweep-kicked his legs, tripping the chameleon. He jumped to pin him down in the process, but a cloud of white smoke appeared as the crash of a smoke bomb was heard, and Espio appeared a few feet away, panting.

Rough and Tumble were tuckered out too, but refused to show it. Even if he was annoying, the chameleon made for an unforgettable opponent. Rough spoke to his brother, making sure to raise his voice loud enough for Espio to hear him. "Sneaky chameleon thinks he's clever. Don't be fooled by his speed from earlier bro, it doesn't matter how good he is at his disappearing act if we can see his shadow!"

Espio chuckled. Even though his opponents were uncouth, it'd still been a fun fight. But it was time to finish it. He addressed them directly. "You've been worthy foes to fight. You've earned my respect. Now I'll show you my ultimate technique! One of my incredible Ninja Arts!"

He began to perform a traditional power-up pose, as he squatted down a bit, curled his arms as if he was lifting weights, and lowered his head ever so slightly. "Haaaaa… aaaaah! Aaaaaah! Ngahhh!" His body began flashing colors while he howled with effort. Colors of the environments and of his foes standing before him. His body was enveloped in a shining light as he began to fade in and out of existence, becoming transparent like a smoky ghost.

Tumble scratched his head, in awe of what Espio was doing. Rough just groaned. "If we had a Wispon this fight would've been over before it started… Whatever. If he becomes invisible again we know how to beat him." He looked over at his brother and they recited another rhyme.

"He'll faint with a whisper."

"He'll go down with a mumble!"

"Ninja tricks are useless against Rough and Tumble!"

As if to respond, Espio shouted one last time, before his technique was complete. "Ninja Arts: Camouflage!" Pumped up by this outburst, Rough and Tumble charged over to him, ready to jab and claw at him. They rushed towards him, Rough swiping and Tumble punching, but as their hands reached Espio's body, he disappeared completely, vanishing into thin air. Their coordinated attack had gone right through him.

"What? Where'd he go, bro?" Tumble questioned his brother, his voice wary and uneasy. Rough just wiped his nose and scolded his brother. "I toldja we just gotta look for the shadows. Get ready to grab him. I'm gonna charge up my Stink Bomber, that'll be enough to put him outta commission." Immediately after this he begun to charge a Spin Dash, in preparation for his attack.

Tumble scanned the ground around them, becoming more worried. "Wait, bro, there's no shadows. It's not like before."

"Then pay attention to the wind or something! He's fast, you'll feel a difference!"

As Tumble concentrated on his senses, Espio materialized right in front of him. Both brothers noticed and got set to attack, as Rough launched his Spin Dash and Tumble swung his fist. Espio vanished into the air again as the skunk brothers' attacks collided, the Stink Bomber into Tumble's fist. The green cloud of stink appeared during the collision and lingered. Both brothers were almost down for the count. Espio materialized again a safe distance in front of them as they struggled to stand up. He took the moment to gloat.

Crossing his arms, he monologued. "This technique is a learned one, not one that any chameleon could perform like my Chroma Camo. I had to undergo intense training to master one of the many Ninja Arts now in my skillset. I'll give you two one last chance to stand down before I end this. A courtesy to worthy adversaries."

"Never!" Rough interjected. "We've come this far and we got more gas left in the tank! You're probably more tired than we are, so either you give up or this fight's gonna drag on, and it won't end well for you."

Espio smiled. Even these lowlifes had a twisted sense of pride. They had to know they were outclassed and yet refused to surrender. Either they were the bravest warriors in this town or the dumbest thugs in the world. "Hmph. So be it!" He pulled out his final weapon, a kunai attached to a long line of rope, and threw the kunai in their direction.

The kunai was not particularly thrown with speed, precision, or aimed accuracy, and the skunk brothers' reflexes were competent enough to catch it. Tumble gripped the kunai as Rough held some of the rope attached to it, and they grinned at each other stupidly, feeling quite proud of themselves.

As expected, Espio thought.

The ninja roared at the top of his lungs. "GET OVER HERE!" He yanked the rope with all the strength he had. Rough and Tumble were dumbfounded and didn't let go of the rope as they were pulled along with it towards Espio. As they fell to Espio's feet, the swift chameleon circled them a few times, rope still in hand, tying up the skunks in the process. Threat completely subdued. Rough and Tumble were at a loss for words, completely dumbfounded by what they felt was an unlucky turn of events.

As Espio dusted himself off, Rough and Tumble were struggling to break free of the rope to no avail. Tumble had given up hope. "Looks like it's curtains for us, bro." Rough had a weird sense of optimism. "Maybe if we're lucky, he'll commit sudoku. I hear it's a thing ninjas do." Espio stifled his laughter upon hearing that.

The purple ninja turned the skunks into the town militia. The local authority was armed with Wispons, pointing them at thugs' heads, and carried them away to be detained in the town jail temporarily before they would be transferred to Everhold Prison. As most of the town came out to witness Rough and Tumble being carried away, Espio received cheers and accolades for his work. He was used to the hype, being a ninja and all, and sometimes found it annoying, but he accepted it this time after a hard-fought battle.

He continued on his journey, armed with more knowledge than he had before entering the town. The next step was to find a Chaos Emerald, and in doing so, he would find Shadow. Though he got more than he bargained for in this town, it was definitely a day to remember. He walked out of the town in the dead of night, with nobody around to witness his leave but the moon and stars.

AN: The use of Rough and Tumble was intentional, as Bad Guys #1 shows us that they were imprisoned after Sonic the Hedgehog #32 due to attacking Barricade Town, who was prepared for them. This is my interpretation of those events for the purpose of this story.